Contact-box for electric railways



(No Model.)

W. M. BROWN. CONTACTBOX FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAY S.

No. 585,255. Patented June 29, 1897.

VJ/W if Q AV fiW/zl y .B 0 B WIT SSES: INVENTOR W BY 7 I TORNEY.

IVILLIAM MILTON BROIVN, OF JOI'INSTO WN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THEJOHNSON COMPANY, OF IJORAIN, OHIO.

CONTACT-BOX FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 585,255, dated June 29,1897. Application filed July 18, 1896. Serial No. 599,649. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: Be it known that I, l/VILLIAM MILTON BROWN,of Johnstown, county of Oambria, State of Pennsylvania, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Contact- Boxes for ElectricRailways, of which the following specification is a true and exactdescription, due reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to the contactboxes used in electric railways, andhas special reference to the boxes used in that class of rail- 1 waysshown and described in Patent No. 1 558,151, issued to me on April 14,1896. In a box of this class there are the followin g elements: a basemember having a cavity, a switch member therein which is here shown as aball of iron or steel floating in a body of mercury, and a covercomposed of a center of men-magnetic materialand two sides of a materialadapted to convey magnetism. The object of my invention is to provide acontact-box in which the switch member is more readily removable andreplaceable in case of accident to it and to provide a box havingcertain other advantages hereinafter pointed out and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 represents a front view of a boxembodying my 0 invention, and Fig. 2 is a vertical section through thecenter of Fig. 1.

A is the base of the boX and is preferably made of wood, which may becreosoted or otherwise treated with preservative, if desired.

5 The iron plates B serve to spike it to the tie, upon which it usuallyrests. Within this base is cavity 0, adapted to receive the severalparts, as hereinafter described, and upon the top is secured the cover,composed of the ceno ter D, of non-magnetic material, as brass ormanganese steel, and the two sides of castiron. This cover also has thecavity I, forming an addition to cavity 0 in the base. The switch memberis here shown as the ball F,

5 floating in the mercury II. This ball and mercury are contained in thevessel I, here shown as a cup, which is formed in two parts, so thatwhen the mercury and ball are in, it maybe sealed up. This cup ispreferably 0 formed of fiber, vulcabeston, porcelain, or

other insulating material and is preferably so shaped that the diameterof the mercury-reservoir is large at the surface of the mercury and thenquickly contracts, as shown. This prevents the surface-level of themercury falling to such an extent when the ball is lifted as it wouldwere it not for it and at the same time reduces the amount of mercurynecessary to be used.

In the bottom of cup I is placed during the 6) process of manufacturingthe cups or afterward the contact L, which passes entirely through thewall of the cup, and is therefore-in electrical connection with themercury therein. This contact engages, as by the thread E or otherwise,the pedestal O, to which the feeder-circuit is connected, as at P.

I11 the top of the cup is formed the other contact-piece R, adapted tomake contact with the ball on the inside and to receive the connectionS, which is in turn electrically con nected to the cover-piece E. Thisconnection S should be of a length sufficient to allow of a couplingupon this connection before setting the cover down to place. 7

The interior surface of the contact member R should conform closely tothe surface of the ball, so that the ball shall fit snugly therein andnot roll around on-its seat, which might haveatendency to cause an arc.Should this boX for any reason become dead or inoperative, it is onlynecessary to remove the nuts from the four holding-down bolts andlifting the main cover off to remove the cup I and substitute a new cuphaving the necessary ball and mercury therein. These cups can be keptprepared, and it is but the work of a few minutes to replace aninoperative one.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to protectby Letters Patent, is-

1. In a contact-box of the class described, a sealed vessel removablysecured within said box containing a switching mechanism con sisting ofa solid conductor floating or immersed in a liquid conductor.

2. In a contact-box of the class described,

a sealed vessel containing a magnetically-operated switching mechanismand removably an electrical I00 secured within the contact-box,

conductor forming part of said vessel, said conductor being flexiblyconnected to the-contact portions of said box.

In a contact-box of the class described, a sealed vessel within saidbox, permanent electrical connections between a cavity within saidvessel and the source of electric supply and between the cavity and thecontact portion of the box, a fluid conductor Within said vessel and asolid conductor floating or immersed therein, said vessel beingremovably secured within the contact-box.

4. In a contact-box of the class described, a receptacle adapted to beremovably secured within the contact-box, said receptacle being sealed,a fluid conductor Within said receptacle and in electrical circuit withthe source of supply, a solid electrical conductor floating or immersedin the liquid conductor, said solid conductor being adapted to be put incircuit with the contact portion of the contactboxr 5. In a contact-boxof the class described, a receptacle having a cavity containing theswitching mechanism,said cavity being sealed and having electricconductors passing through its walls, said receptacle being fastened toa pedestal electrically connected to the supplywire.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

WILLIAM MILTON BROWN.

\Vitn esses:

K. O. HOXIE, H. W. SMITH.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 585,255, granted June29, 1897, upon the application of William Milton Brown, of Johnstown,Pennsylvania, for an improvement in Contact-Boxes for Electric Railways,an error appears in the printed specification requiring the followingcorrection, viz: On page 1, line 42, the reference letter I should beGI; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correctiontherein that the same may conform to the record of the case in thePatent Ofiice.

Signed, countersigned, and sealed this 20th day of July, A. D. 1897.

WEBSTER DAVIS, Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

[SEAL] Countersigned: l

A. P. GREELEY,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

